Drink, Swear, Steal, and Lie
by Caryla
Summary: Derek catches Casey breaking curfew and tells her that if she wants to continue to break the rules, she needs to be like him. He offers to teach her, with a catch. Can Casey learn to be a bad girl, and is that really what she wants? C/OC, Dasey, Lizwin.
1. Prologue

**A/N: So I'm going to go ahead and upload this story. I've got one more chapter written, and I'll post it next Tuesday. Hopefully I'll have another chapter written by then, and I'll try to upload one a week. :) Wish me luck. **

**Disclaimer: The title and part of the plot of this story come from the song, "Drink, Swear, Steal, and Lie" sung by Michael Peterson.**** I do not own it, and unfortunately, nor do I own Life with Derek. Although if wishes were dollars, watching the show would have made me a millionaire by now.  
**

Derek cracked his eyes in the early morning light, groaning as he rolled over to his side, facing the door

Derek cracked his eyes in the early morning light, groaning as he rolled over to his side, facing the door. _What the hell woke me up?_ Groggily, he eyed his clock. Six in the fucking morning. He groaned and started to roll over when he heard stealthy footsteps passing his door. Then, Casey's door opened, but he never heard it click shut.

Derek stumbled out of bed and went to Casey's room. Her door was cracked, and he peered in through the space to see Casey changing clothes. His mouth went dry as he saw the smooth expanse of her tan skin. He waited until she was snug in her pajamamas before walking into her room, pushing the door shut behind him.

Casey looked over as she heard the door latch. "Der-_ek_!" she shrieked, albeit quietly. "Why are you in my room so late?"

He smirked. "Don't you mean so _early_, Space Case? I just wanted to see how your date last night was."

She stared at him suspiciously. "Late, early, it doesn't matter. It's none of your business."

"Hmm," he nodded, as if agreeing with her. "How do you think Nora and dad would feel to know you've missed curfew by six hours?"

Casey blinked, her face flushing red. "I d-did _not_," she stuttered. "I just went to get a glass of water."

"In the same outfit you wore out last night," he asked, brows rising. _Bullshit, _he thought to himself. "Some one needs to teach you to sneak around and lie, if you are going to insist on doing it."

"Oh, and I suppose the _Great _Derek Venturi is offering to teach lowly, little ol' _me_," Casey commented sarcastically, but Derek was nodding before she even finished her sentence. "Oh…. Wait, why?" she asked suspiciously.

"You are an _embarrassment_ to the Venturi household." Smirking, he raised his eyebrow as he added, "even Marti is sneakier than you."

"What's the catch, Derek?"

He shrugged. "For every time you get caught, you owe me ten dollars."

Curiously, she asked, "do you expect me to get caught that often?"

"If you get caught, it will be because you weren't listening to me, or you let your 'morals,' 'ethics,' or 'emotions' get in the way," Derek said rudely. "That would mean that you were wasting my time. So, for every time you waste _my_ precious time, you owe me ten dollars."

Casey growled at him and shook her head. "I don't want to be like you, Derek. I don't even _like_ you."

Inwardly, Derek winced, but he kept his composure and his voice was cool as he told her, "you'll change your mind when you are grounded for missing curfew. Remember my offer, it won't be available long." With that, he stalked out of Casey's room, slamming the door behind him. He went upstairs to the attic silently.

"Wake up, Ed. I have a job for you."


	2. The Deal

**A/N: So I know I said I wouldn't update again until Tuesday, but I'm writing chapter two right now and I'm so excited. Every time I walk away from my computer, I get another idea for the next chapter... And then one for the chapter after that. I'm almost done with Chapter two right now, and unless something happens to distract me from it, when I finish it I'll probably start on chapter three! So now, you get chapter one a few days early, and you'll get chapter two on Tuesday instead :) (Unless I get so excited that I decide to post it tomorrow or something!)(P.S. I promise chapter two is much longer than this chapter!)**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Life with Derek, nor the song that this story is titled after. **

Casey groaned when she heard footsteps pounding past her door at nine the next morning, waking her up. She blinked, covering her head from the sunlight streaming in from her window. A chuckle from her door had her peeking back out. "Derek? What are you doing awake?"

"Oh, I wouldn't miss breakfast this morning for the world… And you might want to make an appearance too," he said, smirking at her.

"Why…?" she asked suspiciously.

"Oh, I don't know." He pretended to think. "Well, for one thing, don't you think it would look suspicious if you didn't wake up at your normal time? And for another… Well, there might be something said at the table that you'll want to hear." With that, he turned and, whistling cheerfully, made his way downstairs.

"Good morning, Derek." Casey heard her mom greet him in tones of surprise.

"Yeah, Derek. Why are you up so early? It's still summer break," George added, laughing at his son.

"Oh, no reason," he replied, a smile in his voice. "Just had a funny dream and it woke me up."

_Funny dream, my foot,_ Casey thought as she pushed her covers off. _I better get down there for damage control._ She hurried out of her room, stopping in the bathroom to wash her face and brush her hair. Feeling a little more alert, she made her way downstairs and took her seat at the table. "Good morning, Space Case," Derek said, smirking as he spooned a large amount of eggs onto his plate.

"Yes, good morning Casey. How did you sleep last night?" Nora asked cheerfully.

"Like the dead," she replied, narrowing her eyes at Derek in warning.

"So, you didn't wake up once?" he asked, elbowing Edwin.

"Yeah," Edwin chimed in. "I thought I heard voices around six this morning."

Nora looked questioningly between the three of them. "Am I missing something?" she asked George. He just shrugged his shoulders and continued buttering his toast.

"No, mom," Casey said, a strained smile on her face. "I just woke up for a glass of water and ran into Derek on my way back to bed."

"Yeah," he said. "I heard her coming upstairs and for a moment thought maybe she had missed curfew."

She shot him an evil look behind her glass as she took a sip of orange juice before replying. Before she could come up with something to say, George looked at her and said, "Did you, Casey?"

Derek interrupted before she could answer, saying "Nope, I was mistaken. There she was in her pajamas, and very angry at me for even daring to suggest such a thing."

"That's right, _Derek_. I'm not like _you_."

George and Nora watched this exchange in confusion, before shrugging it off and continuing their meal. Casey picked up her plate and took it into the kitchen. "Thanks for breakfast, mom," she said, kissing her on the cheek and heading upstairs.

Derek stood as she made her way upstairs. "Yeah, thanks Nora. It was excellent." He took his plate and glass to the sink, before following Casey upstairs.

Her door was closed, but he ignored it and opened the door, walking in and shutting it behind him. He turned around and ducked as Casey sent a shoe flying at his head. "What was that about, Derek? Were you _trying_ to get me in trouble?" she shrieked.

"Keep your voice down, Casey. You don't want any one to walk by and hear you, do you?" He smirked as she narrowed her eyes.

"Fine. Why did you bring that up, Derek? What point were you trying to make?" she asked, much more quietly.

"I'm trying to prove to you that if you don't learn what I can teach you, you will get caught." He raised an eyebrow at her, crossing his arms over his chest.

"And what do you have to teach me?" She crossed her own arms and stared at him haughtily.

"_I_ will teach you to drink, _I _will teach you to swear, _I_ will teach you to steal, and _I_ will teach you to lie." He dropped his arms to his side and paced back and forth in front of her. "These are things you need to know if you want to be like me."

"What makes you think I want to be like you?" she scoffed, dropping down onto her bed.

"Well, you at least need the rudiments of being like me, if you are going to continue missing your curfew and dating people our parents wouldn't approve of." He said, stopping front of her and pushing his hands into his pockets.

"H-How did you know about Gary?" She looked up at him, mouth agape.

"I didn't," he smirked triumphantly. "You just admitted it. But I figured it had to be something like that, for him to cause you to miss curfew. So, what do you say, Casey? Final offer."

She sighed, standing up and pushing him towards her door. "Fine, Derek. Teach me to be like you." He started to reply, but she opened her door and pushed him out. "Later, _after_ I take a nap."

He smirked, and she could see him start to make a sarcastic remark, but she closed her door in his face and locked it. Flopping back onto her bed, she covered her eyes with her pillow and groaned. _What have I gotten myself into?_

Meanwhile, Derek just shrugged and headed up to Edwin's room. "Thanks for bringing it up, Ed. You did exactly what I wanted you to do." He threw five dollars on his bed and added, "I'll need your help in the future. I'll split the profits, twenty for you, eighty for me."

"How about fifty-fifty?" Edwin tried to bargain, but Derek just crossed his arms across his chest and looked at him. "Fourty-sixty?" Nothing. "Okay, thirty-seventy, but that's my final offer!"

Derek raised an eyebrow, but aside from that stood perfectly still. "Fine," Edwin said, resigned. "Twenty-eighty it is." He held out his hand, and after a minute, Derek reached out and shook it.

The deal was sealed.

**A/N2: I'm trying to keep the characters I/C with the show, and I think I do a relatively good job in this chapter, but if you see something that seems slightly off in future chapters, just remember…. They will have "grown and matured" slightly by then. (Of course, if you see something that is MAJORLY off or even just bothers you, or if you want anything explained… Just let me know. :) )**


	3. To Drink

**A/N: Well, here is chapter two. This is the longest chapter so far, but I'm writing chapter four right now, and I'm maybe a little past halfway through with it, give or take, and it's already almost as long as this one. So unless something drastic happens to my muse, it will probably be the longest chapter. :)**

**Disclaimer: I own neither Life with Derek or the song that this fiction is titled after. I do, however, own Gary. (Unfortunately.)  
**

The next morning went much more smoothly. Casey had another date with Gary the previous night, and had once again been out past curfew. This time, however, she remembered Derek's advice, and set her alarm clock for eight thirty—the time she normally got out of bed. When it went off, she groaned. "Less than five hours of sleep in the last forty-eight hours. This is crazy." With that in mind, she swiftly sent Gary a text message, telling him that she wouldn't be able to make their date tonight. She gathered up some clothing and went to take a shower. When she got back to her room, she noticed she had a reply.

**That's fine, babe… But y not?**

She groaned, sitting down on her bed. "Why did he have to ask?" She thought for a few minutes, trying to come up with a believable excuse. "Oh. That should work," she said to herself, her fingers flying over the number pad.

**Mom & George want us 2 have a 'family evening.' No 1 is allowed 2 leave the house; they say we need 'quality time' 2gether.**

Perfect. "Now all I have to do is to convince Derek not to go out tonight… Gary might see him and it would ruin my quiet evening."

"Casey?" Nora's voice floated up the stairs. "Breakfast is ready, will you tell Lizzie, please?"

"Sure, mom," she called, standing up and walking to her sisters door. She rapped her knuckles on it, and called out softly, "Lizzie, it's time to eat." Lizzie opened her door and smiled at Casey.

"Thanks, sis," she said as she brushed past her, heading downstairs.

Casey started to follow her, but at that moment Derek's door was yanked open, and he peered out at her. "Jeez, Space Case, think you could keep it down? Some of us are trying to sleep."

"I'm sorry, Derek," she said, trying to sound contrite.

"Y-you're sorry? What?" he asked, feigning surprise. "What's the catch?"

She walked over to his room, looking both ways before hurriedly pushing him inside and shutting the door behind her. "Look, I need to ask you a favor."

He smirked and raised an eyebrow. "I'm listening."

"Derek… Will you p-p-p…"

"Please, Casey. You can say it."

"Yes. That," she said, "Will you stay home tonight so that I don't have to go out with Gary, because I really need a good nights sleep because I was out until six again this morning and I just can't do it three nights in a row so I told him that Mom and George were making…"

"Whoa, whoa! Spacey! Slow down. You're rambling. And you still haven't said please," Derek interrupted her. "Start over, and say please this time."

She took a deep breath. "Look, I was supposed to go out with Gary again tonight, but I cancelled it because I have only had five hours of sleep in the last two days. But when he asked why, I didn't want to tell him the real reason because… I don't know, I guess I was embarrassed," she said, pausing to look at him.

"Okay, I'm keeping up so far," he smirked. "Go on."

"Alright. So I told him that Mom and George said that no one was allowed to leave the house tonight, because we needed to have more quality family time…"

"Gross," he interrupted, making a face.

"Yeah, yeah. But it's not true. The only thing is…" she paused. Finally, she sighed. "Will you please stay home tonight so that Gary doesn't see you out? Because if he sees you…"

"He'll know you lied, yeah." Derek said, nodding. "Man, you really need to learn to come up with better excuses off the top of your head."

"Yeah, I know. But that's why you're going to teach me! So… will you do it?" She asked anxiously.

"Casey?" Nora's voice floated up the stairs again.

Casey opened Derek's door and called down, "I'll be right there, Mom, I was just seeing if Derek was awake, since he woke up this early yesterday, I thought it might become a habit."

"Okay, hun," Casey heard her mom walk back to the table, and she quickly shut the door and turned to Derek.

"Please, Derek?'

"Yeah, fine." He said finally, giving in. "But just so you know, we're having our first lesson tonight after every one goes to bed."

"But Derek," Casey protested. "I did this so that I could get some rest!"

"Well, then you should have picked a better excuse. One that didn't leave me home and bored." He showed no sympathy as he stood up and leaned past her to open the door.

She sighed, realizing that he wasn't going to budge on the subject. "Then I'll need your help to come up with something to tell him tomorrow so that I can actually get a real night's rest."

She was surprised when he followed her out of the room. "We'll see," was all he said before he headed downstairs to the joy of scrambled eggs.

Casey blinked, following him down and once again taking her chair across from Derek.

"Wow, Derek, two mornings in a row," said George. "I'm impressed."

"Yeah well, I wouldn't be down here if Spacey over there hadn't woken me up," Derek replied around a mouth full of scrambled eggs.

"Der-ek! Chew your food like a normal human," Casey protested.

"Payback, Casey. Payback."

XXX

Casey went to bed early that evening, determined to get some rest before Derek's first 'lesson.' About four hours after she had been asleep, Derek snuck into her room and put his hand over her mouth before hitting her repeatedly on the head with his pillow. "Wake up, Casey," he hissed.

"Demph!" His hand muffled her shriek, and he smirked as he moved it, scooting back out of her reach.

"It's time for your first lesson. Up and at 'em. Be in my room in ten minutes, or you owe me ten dollars." He stood and turned to leave.

"You said I only owe you if I get caught," she complained.

"What I said was, you owe me if you waste my time. And, that being caught meant you were wasting my time." He looked over his shoulder at her. "There are other ways to waste my time, and being late is one of them." With that, he left before she could say anything else, determined to get the last word.

Grumbling under her breath, Casey quickly threw on some pajama pants, glad that her blanket had decently covered her when Derek walked in. The last thing I need is for any one in this family to realize I don't always sleep fully clothed. She knew that Derek would never let her live it down if he found out… It would be prank after prank.

She took her blanket with her as she made her way to Derek's room, settling on her bed and wrapping it around her until she was cocooned. "Okay, professor," she said sarcastically. "What now?"

His back had been turned toward her, blocking her view as glasses clinked together. Now, however, he turned to face her, revealing several bottles of alcohol arranged on his desk.

"The first lesson is drinking," he smirked.

"Wait, what?" she panicked. "I thought you were just going to teach me how to sneak around and lie a little to get out of things."

"Well, you said that you wanted me to teach you to be like me. Lesson number one is to not let anyone find out that you're hung over." He smirked, adding, "to be hung over, you have to be drunk first. So, let's get started."

She sighed, eyeing the glass warily. "What is it?" she asked as she cautiously took the glass from him.

"A screwdriver."

She brought the glass up to her face and sniffed it, making a face at the strong alcoholic smell. "Gross! What's in it?"

"Vodka and orange juice. It's a simple drink, and one of the better tasting ones I can make without ice and a blender." He raised a brow, motioning for her to drink. "I would have made you a margarita or a daiquiri, but those make noise."

She held her nose and took a drink. "Ugh, why does anybody drink this nasty stuff?"

Derek shrugged. "You get used to it. Now, bottoms up!" Then he took his own advice, quickly downing his own screwdriver.

She sighed and followed his example, gagging a little at the taste. "Okay, now can I go back to bed?"

"Casey, Casey, Casey," he said, shaking his head in disapproval. "You don't get drunk off of one drink, you know. Here, have another."

An hour later, Casey's cheeks were flushed and her blanket-cocoon destroyed. "Why is it so hot in here?"

"Eh, some people get hot when they drink. Endorphins or something," Derek explained. "I'm getting a little warm myself, actually." He pulled his shirt off over his head and tossed it towards his laundry basket. He missed, and the shirt fell on the floor a few feet away.

Casey giggled. "Your aim sucks when you're drunk!"

Derek mock-frowned at her. "I'm not drunk, I'm tipsy. You, on the other hand, are drunk. So now you can go back to bed.

"Yay!" She stood up, and immediately sat back down. "My room is too far away. Sleeping here tonight."

"Casey? What? No, Casey," Derek protested. "Your room, come on."

He stood up, swaying back and forth for a moment before he steadied himself. He reached over to help Casey up, but realized she was almost asleep already. "We have to get you back in your bed before you completely pass out," he said, reaching over to scoop her up.

He carried her back into her room, and started to lay her down on her bed. Casey turned towards him and latched her arms around his neck. "You are so warm, Derek. Don't go."

"Oh man," he said. "You are so drunk or you never would have said that." He set her down gently, trying to pry her arms away from him. "Come on, Case, let go," he coaxed.

"No," she giggled. "This is kinda fun." With that, she started tickling his ribcage.

"No—Casey! No!" Derek was starting to laugh uncontrollably. "Shh, stop! You're going to wake everyone up!"

She sighed. "Fine," she pouted, shifting to lie down on her bed. Patting him on his shirtless shoulder, she said "goodnight."

"Goodnight, Casey," Derek stood, and as he did so, Casey's hand slid from his shoulder down his chest, to rest right above his waistband.

"Nooo, Derek," she said, gripping the waist of his pajama pants. "Stay here, please? You're so comfy. I'm cold now, and you're so warm.

His eyes widened. "Uhm, okay Casey. Here's what I'm going to do. I'll stay here, okay? But first… first I'm going to get your blanket. We left it in my room."

"Okay," she nodded sleepily. "That's a good idea."

"Yeah." He hurried back to his room and grabbed her blanket, before silently walking back. As he'd hoped, she was sound asleep. He covered her gently, tucking her in.

"God, I hope she doesn't remember this in the morning…" he muttered, before making it back to his own bed and falling asleep, dreaming about long, tan hands trailing across his torso.

XXX

The next morning, Casey dragged herself out of bed when her alarm went off, and headed to take an early morning shower. Her head was pounding, and she turned the water as cold as she could stand it, hoping it would wake her up. She had no idea of how she got to her bedroom last night, but then, she couldn't remember much after the first four screwdrivers. Apparently Derek was right, though. You do get used to the taste, she mused, struggling to remember what had happened. All that she could remember was flashes of her and Derek having drinking contests, and what looked like a tickle fight.

She made her way downstairs and sat down at the breakfast table, her head in her hands. As everyone sat down around her, Nora looked at her in concern. Casey's face was pale, and she was cradling her head like it was about to explode. "Casey, are you alright?"

She lifted her head slowly, wincing in the light as it caused sharp needles of pain to jab at her head. "No, actually mom, I don't feel very well."

Nora reached out and placed a cool hand over her forehead. "You're not running a fever, sweetie, is it possible you ate something bad yesterday and it's making you sick?"

"Yeah, yeah that's possible," Casey leapt on the excuse.

"I dunno," Edwin piped up. "She looks a lot like Derek did the first time he came home with a hangover. All squinty eyed like the light was hurting him, and with a pale face and aching head."

Nora looked at George, and he looked at Casey. "You do, actually, look like that."

Nora frowned in disapproval. "Casey, are you hung over?"

Casey looked at her, desperately wracking her brain for an excuse to get herself out of trouble. She couldn't find one that could get her off completely free, but….

"Yes, mom," she admitted, hanging her head. "I wanted to know what it felt like to get drunk, but I wanted to do it in the safety of the house. That way, if I did something stupid, I would be at home where I'm safe."

Nora sighed. "I'm both disappointed and proud of you right now, Casey." The entire family looked at her in confusion. "Well," she explained, "I'm disappointed that Casey was drinking. She's never seemed like a rebellious child before—"

"I'm not," Casey interrupted.

"Yes. And yet I'm proud of you for showing the foresight to get drunk at home, so that if anything happened, you would be safe." Nora finished.

George nodded. "Derek was grounded for a month after he came home hung over."

"Yes, but the fact that she did drink here..." Nora thought for a moment. "Casey, you're grounded for the weekend. No dates, no going anywhere, and certainly no drinking."

Casey hung her head. "Yes, mom."

George smiled at her in sympathy. "Go to bed, Casey. The best cure for a hangover is sleep."

After breakfast was over and Casey was safely ensconced in bed, Edwin went to Derek's room.

"So, how'd it go?" Derek questioned.

"She got caught. She's grounded for the weekend," Edwin answered.

"For the weekend?" Derek protested. "I was grounded for an entire month!"

"Yeah, well, she managed to turn it around so that it looked like she was being 'responsible.'" Edwin quickly explained what had occurred at the breakfast table this morning.

"I see," Derek mused. Edwin cleared his throat, and Derek looked at him questioningly.

"Uh, my c-cut?" Edwin stuttered. "You know, twenty percent?"

"Oh, right, right." Derek reached for his wallet and pulled out two one dollar bills, handing them to Edwin.

"That's it?"

"Yeah. Casey pays me ten dollars every time she gets caught. That's your cut." He stood up, and Edwin backed away. "Now, get out. I've got some more lessons to plan."

He shoved Edwin out the door, shutting it in his face. He leaned against the door, smiling.

"That went well." He crossed to his desk and settled behind his computer.

It was time to plan lesson two: Swearing.

**A/N2: Reviews will get you an update on Thursday instead of next Tuesday ;) Oh... And maybe a cookie.**


	4. To Swear

**A/N: And here's Chapter 3, the lesson on swearing. Probably not the best chapter ever, but I'm reasonably happy with it. I have Ch 4 (Stealing) done, too, and I'll post it early next week... Hopefully I'll have chapter 5 (Lying) done by then too... It's giving me fits though. It doesn't want to fit my plot line. Stupid story . :)**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Life with Derek or the song "Drink, Swear, Steal, and Lie."  
**

The weekend passed by with Casey refusing to talk to Derek. She simply told him that the only reason she was taking these "stupid lessons" was so that she could be with Gary with out being in trouble. If she wasn't able to see him, then she wasn't going to do the lessons.

So the Venturi-McDonald clan got a bit of a break from the constant catfights, and Derek was anxiously waiting for Monday—he needed some cash.

Around eleven on Monday morning, Derek cornered Casey on her way downstairs. "Derek, what are—" Before she could finish protesting, he gripped her wrist and pulled her into his room.

"You're ungrounded now, so I'm guessing that means you have a date with this 'Gary' guy tonight, right?"

"Well, yeah," she admitted.

"So that means the lessons continue today. Now, as a matter of fact." He leaned against his closed door, blocking her exit.

"I don't want to do it right now," she said, crossing her arms across her chest huffily.

"Fine, then give me ten dollars," he said, raising his eyebrow. "The time for the lesson is now, so if you don't want to do it now, you're wasting my time again."

She narrowed her eyes at him, but he stared her down. After a few moments of silence, she finally sat down on his bed and heaved an annoyed sigh. "Fine. We'll do it now."

"Thank you," he said haughtily, crossing to his closet. He pulled out a white board with several words written on it.

He pulled out a long metal pointer and assumed his 'teaching stance.' He had worked on it for a few minutes in front of the bathroom mirror, and was quite proud of it. His legs were slightly spread, and he balanced squarely on his heels. His pointer was aimed at the top word, and his other hand was behind his back.

"Now, Casey, I would like you to read this word." He waited as she stared at the board. "_Aloud_, Casey."

"Derek! You know I don't say words like _that_." She scooted to the head of his bed and leaned back. "I refuse."

"Then ten dollars, Casey. Today's lesson is swearing. The word, please." He tapped the pointer on the board.

She crossed her arms across her chest. "Fine. Ass."

"Good, Casey," he said condescendingly. "Now use it in a sentence."

She smirked. "You have a nice ass."

He blinked. "Good job—Really? You think so?" He turned and tried to peer at his behind, turning in small circles in an effort to get a good glimpse.

Her face turned red and she stuttered, "N-no… You said to use it in a sentence and I did!"

He smirked at her. "Then why are you blushing?"

"Whatever. Just get on with the lesson," she said, glaring at him.

"Okay, okay, miss preppy pants. Next word, please. State it aloud then use it in a sentence." He raised his brow, challenging her.

"Damn. Damn, you are a conceited jerk," she said, narrowing her eyes.

He nodded in approval and moved his pointer down to the next word, gesturing for her to continue.

"Shit. Your room smells like shit."

"Well, I see we have transcended from compliments to insults," he said, smirking again. "So sad too, I think that was the only compliment you've given me in the last three days." He moved his pointer to the last word.

"Fuck. Uhm.." Here she drew a blank.

"You do know what the term _means_, right, Casey?" He leered at her, wiggling his eyebrows suggestively.

She glared at him again. "God, you're a cocky little shit, aren't you?" She blushed when she realized she had sworn again.

"Wrong word, Casey. Try again."

"Sometimes I'd like to beat the fuck out of you." She shook her fist at him, but then ruined the picture by giggling.

He laughed too and said, "Okay, that's it for today's lesson."

"Really?" she asked brightly, leaping to her feet.

"Well… except for the homework."

Suspiciously, she asked him, "what homework?"

"You have to swear at least five times today," he told her.

"Are you _serious_? Derek!" Protesting, she started to tell him no, but he held up a hand to stall her.

"Or pay up, right now." Seeing the look on her face, he hastened to add, "and don't even dream of not doing it and saying you did. I'll know… I see _everything_."

"Fine." She walked over to his door before turning around and saying, "I'll do your fucking homework, you ass."

He stood there for a second blinking. "Well, I only have three more chances to catch her." He swiftly left his room and headed to find Edwin.

After fruitlessly checking the attic bedroom, the living room, the kitchen, and the backyard, Derek gave up. He was walking back to his bedroom when he heard whispering in the games closet. He strode over to the door and pulled it open, to find Lizzie and Edwin sitting inside, doing… Something. Whatever they were doing, they stopped as soon as he opened the door.

"Ed, my room. Now." Derek turned and went into his room, confident Edwin would follow—which, of course, he did. "Close the door."

Edwin did as he was told and moved to sit on Derek's bed. Derek shook his head and Edwin jumped up before he had even sat completely down. He walked over to stand in front of Derek. "Yes, D?"

"I want you to bribe Marti with all of my left over Halloween candy." Derek said, crossing his arms over his chest.

"But that's like, over a year old," Edwin protested.

"Yeah, like you wouldn't eat it," Derek said, raising a brow. Edwin thought for a few seconds and shrugged, admitting that he would.

"What do you want me to bribe Marti to do, _exactly_?" he asked.

"Casey will be swearing at least three times today. I want Marti to sneak around behind her, and when she hears her, to jump up and yell out to Nora or dad that Casey said a bad word," Derek revealed his plan, rubbing his hands together.

"And what do _I_ get out of this?" Edwin asked pointedly.

"Uh, your cut of the profits?"

"Derek, that's TWO dollars. That's not enough!"

"Fine," Derek sighed. "I'll take you to the mall for an hour."

Edwin narrowed his eyes at his older brother. "I'm not a girl."

Rolling his eyes, Derek tried again. "The arcade then. For an hour. But you're paying for yourself!"

Edwin thought for a moment before holding his hand out to his brother. "Agreed."

Leaving Derek's room with half of the Halloween candy, Edwin headed down the hall and knocked on Marti's door. Taking the barking he heard as permission to answer, he sidled in and sat down beside her blanket-fort.

"Marti, Derek wanted me to ask you a favor," he said, peering in through the blankets, pillows, and stuffed animals.

Marti immediately crawled out. "What does Smerek want?"

He held out the bag full of half the candy. "He wants you to have this candy. It's half of what's left from Halloween."

She reached in and pulled out a candy bar, unwrapping it and taking a bite before asking, "where's the other half?"

"Well, Marti," Edwin said, trying to sound convincing. "Derek said he'll give you the other half if you do the favor for him."

She thought for a minute, finishing her candy bar before nodding. "Okay, Edwin! What's the favor?"

"Well, Derek thinks that Casey is being bad lately…" Edwin started.

Marti interrupted him. "Oh yeah! I heard Daddy and Nora saying that she was drunking."

"Drinking."

"Yeah, that. So what does Casey being bad have to do with me?" she asked.

"Well, Derek wants you to follow Casey around all day—But don't let her see you! Okay? That's very important."

"Okay! I can do that. Then what?"

"Well, if she does anything bad," he said, "Like, if she says a bad word, then Derek wants you to jump out from your hiding place and call out to Dad and Nora."

"So if she says a bad word, I'm supposed to tattle?" she asked, face screwed up in concentration.

"Yes, exactly. You just jump out and say 'Dad! Nora! Casey said a bad word!" He smiled at her. "Think you can do that for this much more candy?" he asked, shaking the bag.

"Yes! Tell Smerek I'll do it!" She clapped her hands excitedly.

"Okay, well, you better get started then Marti." Edwin stood and went to tell Derek the news, while Marti put on her bright purple 'sneaking' outfit.

Then she hurried from her room and knocked on Casey's door. Casey opened it and looked confused. "Marti, what is it?"

"Oh, nothing, Casey. I was just trying to figure out where everyone was," she said brightly. She turned and pretended to walk away until she heard Casey's door close again. Then she snuck back over to Casey's room and pressed her ear against the crack. She could hear every word of her older step-sister's phone conversation.

"I don't know, Gary. My entire family is going crazy right now. ... Yeah, we're still on for tonight. …. Okay, I'll see you then. Can't wait!"

Casey got off of the phone, and Marti heard her walk towards the door. Marti backed away and ran to the bathroom, hiding inside with the door slightly open. Peering through the crack, Marti saw Casey walk downstairs and she quickly followed, walking on tiptoe and giggling silently to herself.

Casey went downstairs and sat on the couch, channel surfing. She finally settled on a television show and sat back to watch it. After about an hour of her watching the show and Marti watching her, Marti got bored and went to find Derek.

"Smerek! Casey's not doing anything bad," she complained. "She's just watching television!"

Derek sat there thoughtfully for a minute, before standing and saying, "follow me, Smarti. I'll make her say something bad… Just don't let her see you until you tattle, okay?"

Marti nodded, smiling again. "Okay!"

Derek headed downstairs, Marti close behind him. Casey was absorbed in her television show, so Derek motioned Marti to hide under the table. Then he went over to the couch and grabbed the remote from Casey, flopping down on his recliner and changing the channel.

Glancing around the room to make sure that there was no one in sight, Casey snapped at him.

"Dammit, Derek! I was watching that!"

As soon as she protested, Marti jumped out from under the table and ran into the kitchen, screaming at the top of her lungs. "Casey said a bad word! Dad! Nora! Casey was a bad girl!"

Casey rolled her eyes. "Shit. Thanks a lot, Derek." As an after thought, she added, "You little ass-fuck," to get her five words (plus one) out of the way.

Unfortunately for her, Nora walked in just in time to over hear her. "Young lady, I don't know what has gotten into you lately."

Casey tried to protest, but before she could even think of an excuse, her mom interrupted her.

"No. I don't care. You're grounded again, for a week. You can't leave this house until _next_ Monday." With that, Nora turned her back and walked back into the kitchen to begin fixing dinner.

"Dammit," Casey muttered under her breath, standing to go upstairs. Kicking Derek's chair as she passed, she added, "I hate you sometimes."

Derek smirked and followed her to her room. "You think you do," he said cockily when they reached her doorway. "But in all honesty, you love me. You're just too chicken to admit it."

"Whatever, Derek. What do you want, anyway?" She crossed her arms over her chest.

"Uh, my ten dollars? Duh?"

"Fine." She walked into her room and grabbed her purse. Pulling out her wallet, she handed him a ten. "No more lessons until I'm ungrounded, by the way."

He rolled his eyes but nodded, walking out the door with a jaunty wave of his hand. He went to his room and grabbed the last of his candy, taking it to Marti. She was already ensconced back in her blanket-fort, and he sat on the floor beside it. "Here, Smarti. Here's the rest of your candy."

A furry purple arm reached out of the fort and took the bag, hiding it amongst the multitude of stuffed animals. Then, Marti launched herself out and onto Derek's lap. "Thanks, Smerek! That was fun." She smiled at him. "Let me do it again!"

He laughed. "Soon, but not right now. Right now, I've got to go see a man about a game."

She shrugged, confused by his statement but unfazed. "Okay," she chirped. Just then, Nora called up the stairs.

"Kids! Dinner."

Derek carried Marti downstairs and set her in her chair, tickling her the entire way. Soon the whole family was gathered around the table. Dinner was very silent. Casey pouted the entire time, and Derek gloated. The silence was only broken by an occasional "pass the peas" and at one point, by Derek's casual comment.

"By the way, Edwin and I are going to the arcade tonight."

Edwin grinned. "_Yes_!" he crowed, jumping to his feet and taking his dishes into the kitchen. "I'll go get ready."

Derek rolled his eyes. "We'll only be gone about an hour," he told Nora and his dad before getting up and dumping his own dishes on the counter. Grabbing his leather jacket from the hook, he called up the stairs, "hurry up, Ed!" and walked out the door. Edwin came downstairs, still grinning, and ran after his brother.

"Bye guys!" His voice floated back into the house as the door slammed shut.

Casey sighed and headed upstairs. Time to call Gary. _Again._


	5. To Steal

**A/N:  And here's chapter 4.  I think I like it. It's also pretty long, and there's some Casey/Gary drama... Uh oh! What's going on? Well... Read on to find out! :) As always, reviews are appreciated, but not necessary.  I'll try to get chapter five done today/tomorrow and post it on Thursday, since I've obviously been posting every Tuesday/Thursday and just every Tuesday like I thought! :) Wish me luck!  
**

**Disclaimer: I own neither LWD or the song this fic is titled after.**

**XX  
**

After a long week of the silent treatment, periodically punctured with screams of "Der-_ek_" (when he pulled a prank and Casey forgot she wasn't speaking to him,) Monday morning finally arrived.

Casey got up at her regular time and took a warm shower before going into her room. Turning her 'happy' playlist on, she sat down at the computer to send an instant message to Gary.

**SpaceCase: I'm ungrounded today!! What are we doing tonight?**

**Bad2ThaBone: I can't go out 2nite, Casey. I have plans.**

**SpaceCase: What do you mean, Gary? I've been grounded for like, the last nine days. I was really looking forward to seeing you tonight. **

**Bad2ThaBone: Yeah, well, u should have snuck out to come see me on Friday, like I told u 2.**

**SpaceCase: You know I can't do that!**

**Bad2ThaBone: Y not? I thought u were being 'rebellious.' Wasn't that wat u said wen we started going out?**

**SpaceCase: I am, I am! I'm working on it, I promise. **

**Bad2ThaBone: Yah, but u keep getting caught.**

**SpaceCase: I'm sorry. I am! So why can't I see you tonight?**

**Bad2ThaBone: I told u, I have plans.**

**SpaceCase: Doing what?**

**Bad2ThaBone: Family stuff. U know.**

**SpaceCase: Fine. What about tomorrow?**

**Bad2ThaBone: We'll c. Talk 2 me then. G2g now, bye babe.**

**SpaceCase: Bye…**

_**Bad2ThaBone has signed off.**_

Casey frowned, her good mood gone. She got up from the desk and went to Derek's room, walking in with out knocking.

Her step-brother was sprawled face down across his bed, his blankets kicked off during the night. _Well, well, well. Looks like I'm not the only one who occasionally sleeps less than fully dressed, _Casey laughed to herself. Derek was wearing only his boxers, and she felt her mouth go dry as she scanned him from toes to head. _He really _does_ have a fine ass._

She grabbed a pillow that had fallen to the floor, and taking a firm grip, started beaming Derek on his head and shoulders.

"What the hell?" Derek rose up on his elbows, blinking and looking around. When he saw who was in his room, he groaned and slumped back down. "What do you fucking want, Casey? Do you know what time it is!?"

"Do you?"

He turned his head to look at her, blinking. "Actually, no. But I bet it's earlier than noon, so I repeat… What do you _want_?"

She glared at him. "Thanks to _you_ and your _lessons_ I haven't seen my boyfriend in nine days. I'm angry, Derek."

"…Okay? And I care _why_?"

She smacked him again with the pillow. "Because this is your fault!"

"And…?" He smirked up at her.

"Well," she said, sitting down on the edge of the bed and wrapping her arms around the pillow. "Gary wanted me to sneak out Friday night…"

"Okay," he sat up. "So why didn't you?"

"Because we haven't gotten that far in our lessons," she explained. "I was afraid of getting caught _again_."

"Oh, right then." He laid back down and turned his back to her.

"Derek! When is my next lesson?" She whacked him again with the pillow to get his attention.

"Later. _After_ noon." He looked over his shoulder with a glare. "And don't hit me again, Princess."

"Or what?" she asked as she raised the pillow again.

"You don't want to know," he said, narrowing his eyes.

_Whack_. Derek jumped to his feet. "Oh, you're going to get it now," he said, grabbing his other pillow and hitting her across her shoulder. They darted around the room, beaming each other with the fluff-filled bags until the one Casey was using split, spilling fluffy white stuffing all over the room. Then they both dropped to the bed, giggling.

Derek rolled over to his side, facing Casey. Propping himself up on his elbow, he looked down at her. She stopped laughing at the look on his face. "What?"

"Nothing," he said. "Except…" He reached out slowly and lightly brushed her face with his hand. Reaching into her hair, he pulled out some fluff and showed it to her. "This was in your hair."

Her breath caught in her throat, and she reached out and performed the same maneuver on him. "This was in yours."

They laid like that for a few seconds longer, each breathing deeply of the others scent, before George called up the stairs. "Kids! Breakfast is ready."

Derek rolled over on to his back. "Ugh, I'm so awake now, I might as well go get some breakfast."

Casey stood and held out a hand to help Derek up. He looked at it suspiciously before shaking his head, sitting up, and running a hand through his hair. Casey shrugged and walked to the door, but stopped when she noticed Derek wasn't following her. "Are you coming?"

"Uhm, Case… In case you haven't noticed, I'm not exactly presentable." He pulled the remains of the pillow across his lap. "I'll be down there in a moment."

She nodded and left, closing the door behind her.

Derek flopped backwards onto his bed again with a groan, grateful Casey hadn't noticed his 'morning wood.' _That wasn't there when I woke up, I know it wasn't! _

He started to wonder why, but shrugged it off as too much thought, and instead got up to get dressed before heading down to the breakfast table---to the surprise of everyone but Casey.

XXX

At twelve thirty that afternoon, Casey put her novel down and got up from her bed, straightening her skirt. She stopped to look in the mirror over her dresser, straightening her hair and checking her make-up. _What am I doing?_ She scowled at herself and walked out of her room, knocking on Derek's door.

The sound of guitar rifts instantly stopped and he opened his door, guitar still in hand. "Yeah?" he asked.

"My lesson?" She raised her eyebrow. "You said after noon, and it's now twelve thirty."

"Oh, yeah," he said, nodding and letting her in. "Sorry, got carried away and forgot."

She looked at him in surprise. "Do you get lost in your music often?"

He shrugged. "Yeah. It's one of my ways of relaxing when I'm stressed or confused."

"Well, which are you?"

"Huh?" he asked in confusion.

She laughed at him. "Are you stressed or confused?"

He turned his back to her, placing his guitar in his case. "Confused. Now, can we get to the point?"

She looked at him curiously. "Don't you want to talk about it? Maybe I can help."

"Casey, I don't do feelings," he told her, frustrated. "You know that. So. Today's lesson is stealing."

"I'm not a thief, Derek," she protested.

"Look, we've been over this. You're here to learn what I have to teach you. This is the next to the last lesson, okay? Deal with it or pay me twenty dollars right now and we'll quit."

She thought about it, and then shrugged. "Okay, it's not like I have to keep doing it after the lesson."

He shrugged. "Yeah, whatever. Anyway, this one is just a lecture plus homework."

She nodded agreement, gesturing for him to go on, though she scrunched up her nose at the thought of what the 'homework' would probably consist of. Pulling one of his many (unused) school notebooks toward her, she grabbed a pen and prepared to take notes.

"Okay, well. It's actually pretty simple," he told her. "You make sure that no one's around, especially the person you're stealing from. Make sure they are busy some where else and won't be coming up any time soon. Then just silently slip into their room. If you can manage to think like the person, you can usually figure out where they keep things. For instance, I know that Edwin is a geek who is into super-spy stuff. So instead of keeping his money in his underwear drawer like Lizzie does, or his wallet like you do, he hides it under the loose floorboard beneath his bed. So, when he's downstairs watching television, if I need some money, I simply go up and take a small amount—never, _ever_ take more than you need or something that will be instantly noticed, unless you know you won't be suspected."

"But you take stuff I notice all the time," she pointed out.

"Yeah, so I can get a rise out of you. It's hilarious to see your face when you realize something is missing. Oh, that reminds me…" he crossed to his bed and pulled something out from under his mattress. Tossing it to Casey, she realized it was her diary.

"Der-_ek_! You stole my _diary_?"

He smirked. "Well, duh. By the way, Gary sounds like a real jack-ass."

"And you _read_ it?" She threw it at his head, narrowly missing as he dodged, laughing.

"Why else would I steal it?" He threw up his hands in surrender as she stalked towards him. "Okay, honestly here… I only read the parts that had Gary in them. I wanted to see what he was like."

She crossed her arms over her chest. "You're such a… a.. a _jackass._"

"I'm glad to see you're taking my lessons to heart, Casey," he said, laughing at her. "Okay, well I think that's it for today's lesson. Your homework is to steal Lizzie's favorite soccer ball."

"But I thought you said to steal something that wasn't noticeable?" she asked in confusion.

"Or something that you wouldn't be suspected of. And honestly, Casey, who's going to suspect _you_ of stealing?"

She thought about that for a few minutes before nodding, conceding his point. Standing, she said bitterly, "Fine. I'll take care of that today. It's not like I have anything else to do."

Derek struggled with himself for a minute before telling her, "the guy's an ass, Casey. Look at what you're doing for him, how you're trying to change. He's not nice to you, I read that in your diary. Everything about him is 'Gary said I should…' or 'Gary told me to..' What happened to the free-thinking, rule-following Casey that we all know and love?"

She scoffed at him. "Love. Yeah, right. As much as a snake loves a mongoose."

"A _what_?"

"Never mind. It's beside the point—which is that who I date is my own concern." She turned her back to him, snatching up her diary and walking out the door. "By the way—don't _ever_ read my diary again," she called over her shoulder before she slammed the door.

Making her way over to her own bedroom, she walked inside and sat at her desk. Pulling a notebook toward her, she opened it to a blank page and grabbed a freshly sharpened pencil. She divided the page in half, using a ruler to draw a perfectly straight, vertical line down the center. On the left side she labeled it "For," and on the right side she labeled it "Against." Then, she turned her 'autopilot' on and started writing, thinking about Gary while she did so.

_For_

_Feels daring to sneak around_

_Fun to not be made to feel like a keener and a loser_

_Gorgeous brown eyes, rimmed with thick black lashes_

Against

_Completely against the grain to sneak around_

_Having to learn to do things I don't want to do_

_Orders me around_

_Don't have much to talk about_

_Kinda like some one else…_

Casey stared at what she had written in the against column. _What?_ She shook her head, trying to clear the cobwebs, and erased the last line. _No. No, I don't_, she told herself firmly. _I don't!_

Tearing the piece of paper out of the notebook, she crumbled it up and looked at the fresh page. "Might as well do my homework now," she said under her breath. Re-sharpening her pencil, she reviewed in her head what Derek had taught her. Then, she made a checklist.

_Make sure Lizze is occupied elsewhere—preferably as far away as possible!_

_Make sure no one else sees me—entering __or__ leaving her room._

_Think like Lizzie—possible places for soccer ball: Closet, under her bed, on her shelf of trophies_

_Hide it out of site—my closet._

Satisfied that she had a plan—simple though it was—Casey stood to go make sure Lizzie was busy. Finding that her sister's room was empty, Casey next checked the game closet. When that yielded no results, she headed downstairs. Lizzie was not in the living room, or in the kitchen. "Where can she be?" she murmured to herself.

"Who, dear?" Nora asked from behind her.

Casey jumped, startled. "Oh, uh, Lizzie. I was wondering if she wanted to do something with me today… Ya know, to celebrate the fact that I'm ungrounded and all."

Nora smiled at her. "She's at the park, playing soccer with Edwin. Derek just left to go pick them up, so they should all be back in fifteen minutes."

"Okay, thanks mom," Casey said, forcing a smile as she headed back upstairs. _Occupied, check._ Walking straight to Lizzie's room, she looked both ways to make sure no one else was around. Slipping inside, she checked the trophy shelf first. No soccer ball. Bending down, she peeked under the bed. Empty. Looking into the closet, she furrowed her brow in confusion. "Where _is_ it?" Crossing her arms across her chest, she looked around the room. Finally, she found it on top of Lizzie's dresser, under her soccer uniform. Crossing to the dresser, she hurried back into her bedroom and set it on the shelf at the top of her closet. Sitting down at her computer, she sighed in relief to have finished her homework, and signed online to see if Gary was on.

Meanwhile, Derek had picked up Lizzie and Edwin and was explaining the situation to them.

"I'm not going to be mean to my sister, Derek!" Lizzie refused, looking out the window of the prince.

"Look, Liz," Derek tried to convince her. "It's not being mean—it's saving her. Really. You know she's not cut out for this stuff—and that's the lesson she _really_ needs to be taught. This guy is bad news for her, he keeps trying to get her to sneak out and stuff."

She nodded reluctantly. "I can see where you're going with this. Okay, I'll help."

Edwin piped in from the backseat. "For a price, of course, right Lizzie?"

Derek glared at him through the rear view mirror, but Lizzie nodded her head. "Oh, definitely."

"Fine," Derek said, tightening his grip on the wheel. "What's your price?"

"Tonight, take both me _and_ Edwin to the arcade." She turned around to look in the backseat. "Sound good, Ed?"

"Sounds great!" he said enthusiastically.

Derek rolled his eyes. "Fine, whatever. For an hour."

Lizzie tried to argue with him, but he refused to change it. Finally, he snapped at her. "Look, you either take the deal, or you don't. If you don't, I'll get Marti to help me instead."

Lizzie looked at Edwin, who nodded frantically. "Fine, we'll take it," she said, just as they pulled into their driveway.

The trio walked inside, and Derek immediately went up to his room. Lizzie and Edwin looked at each other. "Well, lets get this over with," Lizzie said, leading him to her room.

She crossed to her dresser, and then pretended to freak out. "My ball! Edwin, did you take my soccer ball?" she yelled, winking at him.

Edwin took his cue, and responded with, "I've been with you all day! It wasn't me."

He followed her as she left her room and slammed open Derek's door. "Derek!" she yelled. "Did you take my soccer ball?"

He looked up from his guitar and smirked. "No, Lizzie. Maybe you just misplaced it," he suggested loudly.

"No, it was on my dresser when we left!"

Edwin nodded, and loudly asked, "Well, who was home while we were gone?"

Derek shrugged. "Marti, Nora, dad, and Casey. Ask them if they have seen it. Now, get out." The glare he sent them was real, and they both backed nervously from his room, shutting his door gently. As they walked away, they could hear him tuning his guitar before he started playing.

"One down, three to go," Edwin said quietly to Lizzie as they made their way downstairs. Casey and Marti were sitting on the couch watching television, while George and Nora were in the kitchen making dinner. Edwin nudged Lizzie, pointing toward their parents. "Them first," he mouthed to her.

Nodding, she walked past Casey and Marti. Making sure she could be heard in the living room, where Casey was already looking nervous, Lizzie smiled at her mom. "Mom, George—have either of you seen my purple and blue soccer ball? It was on my dresser when I left for the park."

Out of the corner of his eye, Edwin noted Casey glance at them before she got up and headed upstairs. He nodded to Lizzie to let her know that things were going according to plan.

"Oh, is that what you were yelling about upstairs?" Nora asked, concerned.

As Lizzie and Edwin nodded, George and Nora both shrugged. "We haven't seen it. Marti has been with us all day. Maybe you should ask Derek and Casey."

"We've already asked Derek," Edwin answered, "but we'll go ask Casey now." Grabbing Lizzie by her elbow, he pulled her up the stairs.

"This is going to be easier than I thought!" he whispered to her as they knocked on Casey's door.

After a few seconds of silence, the teens were starting to worry that she wouldn't answer the door. Just as Lizzie raised her fist to knock again, Casey opened the door, peeking out through a crack. "Yes?" she asked.

"Can we talk to you, please?" Lizzie asked her.

"I don't know, Liz… I'm really busy."

"Please, Casey? It's important?"

Casey looked at them for a moment longer before glancing over her shoulder toward her closet, where the ball was hidden. Seeing that the door was closed firmly, she opened the door and walked over to her bed.

Lizzie followed her in and sat on the bed next to Casey as Edwin shut the door and went to sit at Casey's desk.

"What is it, Liz?" Casey asked, clearly trying to hurry them along.

Lizzie decided to get straight to the point. "Have you seen my soccer ball?"

"A ball?" Casey tried to laugh, but it sounded forced. "That's important?"

Lizzie nodded. "It's my favorite, Casey… You know, the one I won the tournament with last year?

Casey shrugged. "Sorry, Lizzie," she said, forcing herself not to look at the closet where the ball was hiding.

"Hey, Lizzie, look at this." Edwin held a notebook out to his stepsister.

"What? Edwin, why are you going through my stuff? Get out!" Casey yelled, jumping up and grabbing the notebook from Edwin. "Now," she said, as she walked over and opened the door pointedly.

Lizzie looked at Edwin in confusion, and he nodded to her. Shrugging, they both started walking toward the door. Lizzie looked incredibly disappointed, until she heard Casey snap, "Don't open that door, Edwin!"

Lizzie turned around to see him reaching into the closet. Standing on tiptoe, he pulled her soccer ball from Casey's closet. Handing it to Lizzie, they both walked out of Casey's room.

Before Casey could close her door, Edwin smirked at her. "Next time you want to steal something, don't write a to-do list."

Casey slammed the door, before sinking down to the floor, burying her hands in her hair. _Damn Derek for getting me into this! _She leaned her head back against the door. _ It's not Derek's fault_, she admitted to herself. _It's Gary's… And mine. I should know better than this. Is he really worth it?_

Meanwhile, Edwin and Lizzie were describing the scene to Derek. He nodded and pulled out a couple of ones to head to Edwin. After dinner, they all headed to the arcade. As Derek watched the younger teens dart from game to game, he realized that they were on a date. "Ed, come here."

Edwin shrugged at Lizzie, dropping her hand and heading over to where Derek was sitting. "Yeah, bro?"

"Why didn't you tell me this was a date?"

Edwin looked away. "We weren't sure if you'd still bring us."

Derek nodded. "I probably wouldn't have. Don't you think that it's wrong to date your _stepsister_ of all people, Ed?"

"Step, Derek," Edwin said angrily. "Step. It's not incest, alright? We're not blood related or anything. What the hell is the big deal?"

Derek thought about this. What _was_ the big deal? "I dunno, Ed. I guess it's not really a problem. Dad and Nora will be pissed if they find out, though."

Edwin nodded in agreement. "This is our first actual date that doesn't include going to the park to play soccer. We had to make sure they wouldn't find out."

Derek sighed. "Well, your secret is safe with me… Now go on, get back to your date and leave me alone."

As Edwin headed back off to tell Lizzie what had happened, Derek thought back on their conversation, and for the life of him, _still_ couldn't figure out what the big deal was. _It's not incest…_

Two hours later, the trio was leaving the arcade. Lizzie and Edwin were jabbering their thanks to Derek for letting them stay longer than he had agreed too. "Yeah, yeah," he said, shrugging off their gratitude. "Just don't tell anyone I was nice."

Walking through the mall where the arcade was located, Derek stopped dead in his tracks. Ahead of them, a guy with curled, black hair and a lean body was kissing a blond girl passionately. Somehow, Derek knew this guy was Gary. Every instinct in his body was screaming at him that Casey's boyfriend was cheating on her. But he knew that before he could tell her, he had to make sure. Leading the teens past the couple, he 'accidentally' bumped into the man. Angry brown eyes looked up at him, and Derek searched his face briefly. Aha—there it was, the scar in his upper lip that Casey had described in her diary. "Sorry, man. I slipped," Derek fibbed easily as he kept walking, hands clenched at his side.

Lizzie and Edwin noticed nothing, and when they reached the Prince, they clambered into the backseat with each other. All the way home, Derek ignored their whispering and giggling as he fought with his conscious.

_Should I tell her?_


	6. To Lie

**A/N: This chapter is a little forced. I had sever writer's block while writing it, and I couldn't get it to go where I wanted it to go. But in the end, I guess this will work. Next chapter is the last chapter!**

**Disclaimer: I own neither Life With Derek or the song Drink, Swear, Steal, and Lie.  
**

Tuesday morning dawned, and the early birds of the family started scurrying around a couple hours later. Groaning, Derek swung his legs over the side of the bed and stood. He stretched with a grimace. _Who knew having a conscious could keep you awake almost all night?_ He knew he'd fallen asleep sometime around three or four this morning, but even then he had only slept for a couple of hours.

Throwing a pair of jeans on over his boxers, he grabbed a shirt and headed for his bedroom door, intending to get in the shower before Casey. If he was going to be awake this early, he might as well take advantage of it to prank his favorite stepsister. _Favorite? Man, I'm losing it._

Shaking his head to clear his thoughts, his eyes fell on an envelope taped to the inside of his door. Whoever put it there must have brought it during the brief time he was actually sleeping. Grabbing it, he put his shirt on the bed before sitting down beside it to open the envelope.

A folded sheet of paper fell out, along with ten dollars. _Casey,_ he thought, smiling.

He tucked the ten under his pillow for safekeeping before unfolding the letter.

Derek-

_Here's the ten dollars. I'm sure you heard that I got caught with Lizzie's soccer ball. I would blame you, but I know you are just trying to help me learn and it's not your fault that I'm so bad at it._

_I just wanted to thank you for all of your help. Can we have the last lesson early today? I'm meeting Gary at three, and I want to be finished by then. Let me know!_

_Love,_

Casey

Derek sat there and stared at Casey's elegant handwriting. She was going to see Gary today. Gary who was mean her. Gary who was cheating on her. And for the life of him, he still didn't know if he should tell her.

He pushed the letter under his pillow with the ten, and left his room. Casey opened his door at the same time, and they stared at each other for a few seconds before taking off down the hall, each trying to get to the bathroom first.

Derek won, and he smirked at her as he slammed the door shut and locked it. Turning on the water, he quickly stripped and hopped into the shower.

A few minutes later, he jumped as the door slammed open against the wall. He peeked around the edge of the curtain and was surprised to see Casey standing there, holding her driver's license "Gary taught me how to get past simple locks," she said smugly. Closing the door behind her, she went to the sink and smeared toothpaste on her toothbrush.

"Casey! I'm in the shower," Derek protested loudly.

Casey nodded. "I suggest you hurry. You have until I get done brushing my teeth and working the tangles out of my hair before I pull you out and throw you into the hallway—naked."

He narrowed his eyes at her. "You wouldn't."

She raised a brow at him in the mirror. "Do you really want to find out?" she asked as she started to brush her teeth.

Derek ducked back into the shower, eyes wide with fear. _She just might, what with everything she's been 'learning.' _He quickly shampooed and rinsed his hair before turning off the water. Reaching out and pulling the towel into the shower, he quickly dried off before wrapping it around his waist and stepping out.

Casey smirked, setting down her hairbrush. "Good timing. Now get out so I can shower."

He crossed his arms across his chest. "No."

"What?" Casey asked in surprise.

"No," he repeated. "I have to brush _my_ teeth and brush _my_ hair. You can go ahead and take your shower if you want, I promise that I won't haul you out naked."

She looked at him suspiciously, before capitulating. "Fine. At least leave so I can get in the shower."

He shrugged. "Just don't think you can lock me out. I know the same trick."

Rolling her eyes, she opened the door and waited for him to step out. After he did, she quickly stripped and jumped into the shower, turning the water on as she did so. As soon as he heard the water turn on, Derek walked back in. He glanced towards the shower, curious. It was just as he had suspected. The white shower curtain was almost sheer in the light of the bathroom, and he could see her shadow through it. _Gorgeous,_ he admitted to himself as he headed to the sink.

"So did you get my letter?" Casey's voice floated over to him.

Derek finished brushing his teeth before he answered her, "yeah. After breakfast we'll have the last lesson." He turned his attention to his hair, using Casey's hair dryer and finger-combing it to get the proper, messy effect.

He turned off the hair-dryer at the same time Casey turned off the shower. As she pulled her towel in with her and began to dry off, he leaned against the sink and watched her silhouette. He couldn't stop his imagination from running away with him. He kept fantasizing about being in the shower with her, while Gary was completely out of the picture.

Her voice interrupted his reverie. "You know," she called to him. "We should do this more often."

"What, interrupt each others showers?" he asked sardonically.

She pulled the curtain aside, standing in front of him with her hair dripping and her body wrapped in a towel. Derek's mouth went dry as she answered, "Well, yeah. Kinda. I mean, look. Normally you spend almost thirty minutes in the shower and I spend almost thirty minutes in the shower. So that's an hour between both of us. But today, all I have left to do is my hair. That'll take fifteen minutes, because I do my make-up in my bedroom. So that turns an hour into forty-five minutes."

Derek laughed. "I'm fine with that, but if you suggest we start showering _together_ to save any more time, I'm going to think you like me or something." He blushed suddenly as he realized what he had said, and he hoped she didn't figure out why.

But Casey had ducked her head too, and her cheeks were just as pink. "No, of course not," she mumbled as she stepped out of the shower and brushed past him. Both of their bodies tingled as flesh brushed flesh. Derek cleared his throat as he watched Casey begin to brush her hair. Her towel was starting to slip, and he could just imagine what would happen when she began to use her hair dryer.

He closed his eyes briefly, before resolutely turning his back to walk out before something like that happened. He wasn't sure if he could hold himself back if he saw such an expanse of skin.

After going to his room to get dressed, he headed downstairs. Laughing good-naturedly at the familiar (and over-done) surprise of his family, he took his seat at the table to wait for breakfast.

Casey finished her hair and hurried to her room. She could hear the entire family downstairs, teasing each other and having fun. Getting dressed rapidly, she quickly put on some make-up before heading downstairs herself.

Breakfast was a light-hearted, fun affair that day, and Casey couldn't help but admit that she was glad her mom and George had decided to start making breakfast every morning, rather than just on weekends.

Afterwards, Derek and Casey headed to his room to start on the next and final lessons.

"Okay, today is lying." Derek told her as they both sat on his desk.

"Lying?" she asked "Finally. That's probably what I need the _most_ work on."

She smiled as Derek laughed. "You're right. So here's the deal. I'm going to make ten statements. You tell me which ones are lies."

"Are you going to tell me if I'm right or wrong?"

"No. But I will tell you how many you got right and you can try to figure out which ones," he compromised.

Nodding, she indicated that he should continue.

"Okay, we'll start simple. My hair is green."

"Lie."

"My eyes are brown."

"True."

"I actually like a wide range of different music, including country and jazz."

"Uhm… Lie?"

"Your boyfriend is just using you."

She narrowed her eyes at him. "Lie."

"We are worst enemies."

"Isn't that open for interpretation?" she asked him.

"Okay, so do you think that's something I think is a lie, or the truth?"

She hesitated. "Lie."

"We are best friends."

She wrinkled her nose. "Lie?"

"We work well together, when we can get along."

"True."

"I am absolutely gorgeous."

She laughed. "True… at least in _your_ opinion."

He rolled his eyes. "Whatever. You are gorgeous, too."

"Definitely a lie."

"I've had a lot of fun teaching you."

"Lie," she said, laughing again. "You've just enjoyed the thirty dollars I've had to give you!"

He smiled at her. "Can't deny it, that money has been nice. Okay, so you managed to get six out of ten correct."

She shoved him playfully. "Only because you were taking it easy on me. Which four did I miss?"

He shrugged. "You have to figure that out on your own. But your homework is to tell at least one huge lie today."

She thought about that, nodding. "Yeah, I can do that, I think. But how do I not get caught?"

"Easy," he said. "Stick as close to the truth as possible. Or if you can't, then before you lie, convince yourself that what you are saying is the truth. If you think it's the truth, it's more believable."

She wrinkled her nose in thought. "Okay. I can try." She flopped down on the bed and Derek laid down beside her, laying on his side and looking at her.

"If I guess which ones are truth and which are lie, will you tell me?" she asked him.

"Only if you can correctly guess why it's the truth or a lie," he answered.

She stared up into his eyes. "Okay. Well, I know your hair is not green, and you're eyes are brown, so obviously, I got that one right." He nodded in encouragement. "And we do work well together, and you do think you're gorgeous," she added.

"Right, well I don't think we're worst enemies, because we _do_ work well together. But I also don't think we are best friends, because we don't tell each other everything."

Derek nodded. "So far, all correct."

Casey counted on her fingers. "So that's all six that I got right."

Derek cursed under his breath as a wide smile crossed Casey's face. "So now I know which ones I got wrong," she said excitedly.

"Good job," he said as he stood and pulled her off his bed. "Now you can leave to figure out why and what they mean." Pushing her out his door, he closed it and leaned back against it. _Shit,_ he thought to himself. _I shouldn't have told her which ones she got right… Now she's going to learn far more about me than I wanted her too._

Shrugging, he reached for his guitar. As if he wasn't confused enough by finding Gary cheating on her, now he was confused over Casey—and whether or not he _wanted_ her to figure out the truth.

Casey walked over to her room, also confused. She sat down at her desk to try to figure out why Derek had kicked her out so abruptly. As she did so, she saw her notebook lying out and decided to try to decipher the lies from the truth.

_Derek listens to a wide variety of music._

_Gary is using me._

_I'm 'gorgeous.'_

_Derek had fun teaching me._

She smiled when she realized she had thought all of these were lies. Then she blinked. _If they aren't all lies… Then they are all true?_ She thought about that for a second. _At least in Derek's opinion._

She realized that she should have known that about his music. She heard a lot of things coming from his room, from Toby Keith to Xavier Rudd to Paul Simon, and sometimes even the jazz music that she couldn't identify.

She wondered where he got the idea that Gary was using her. Oh yeah—her diary. Well, she had to admit that from where she was sitting, it looked like that was true too. And she had a strong feeling that Gary wasn't out with his family last night. He had told her on numerous occasions that his family wasn't close at all. _I bet he's cheating on me, the bastard._

The next "truth" was that she was gorgeous. She looked at herself in the mirror over her dresser. No matter how hard she tried, she just couldn't see it. _Well that's obviously just Derek's opinion. But why would he think that?_

And she was glad to realize he had fun teaching her these lessons. She had to admit, she'd had fun too. She liked spending time with Derek, and she could admit that she thought he was gorgeous just as much as _he_ thought he was. She sat there in silence, stunned by the implications. _I like Derek!_

Meanwhile, Derek has called Lizzie, Edwin, and Marti into his room for a conference. "Okay, so you understand? The first person to catch Casey in a big lie today gets free rides to school in the Prince for a month."

Marti piped up, "Smerek, what's wrong with riding with Nora or daddy?"

Lizzie and Edwin rolled their eyes in unison. "It's just not cool, Marti."

"Well, I think it's cool," she argued.

"Okay, Smarti. If you catch Casey, I'll take you to the park on Saturday and buy you ice cream. Now get out there and catch that lie!" He ushered them out of his room, and Marti immediately headed to Casey's room. Knocking on the door, she waited for Casey to call out before she entered and closed the door behind her. Derek noticed what she was doing, and quickly walked over to the vent in the wall between his and Casey's room, opening it to listen in.

"Casey, I have a question," Marti stated as she sat down on the bed.

Casey got up from her desk and sat down beside Marti. "Sure, Marti. What can I help you with?"

Marti wrinkled her nose. "Why do you hate Derek?" she asked seriously, reasoning to herself that this was the most likely way to catch Casey.

"I don't!"

"That's a lie, Casey! Everyone knows you hate him." Marti said triumphantly.

Casey smiled and pulled her pillow on her lap. "Marti, can you keep a secret?"

Marti smiled widely and bounced up down, the 'trap' forgotten. "Yes, yes! I can," she said excitedly.

Casey lowered her voice, and in the next room, Derek strained to hear what she said. The only things he could hear, though, were fragments.

"…Don't hate Derek…. He's cute… helped me out a lot recently… Keep thinking that…. So don't tell, okay Marti?"

Derek flipped the vent closed in frustration, groaning as he flopped down on his bed. _Okay, so she thinks I'm cute… And she doesn't hate me. But what does that _mean_,_ he asked himself. _Does she like me?_

Meanwhile, back in Casey's room, Marti swore to secrecy before bouncing out of Casey's room—forgetting all about her bribe to catch Casey. She went to her room and holed herself up in her tent, renaming two of her animals "Casey" and "Derek" before serving them tea.

Lizzie shrugged at her youngest stepsibling's usual abnormal behavior, and knocked on Casey's door. Casey opened it and leaned out. "Yes, Liz?" she asked.

"Casey," Lizzie asked hesitantly. "Why… why did you steal my soccer ball?"

Casey smiled. "I was trying to impress a guy I liked by learning to be a bad girl. It was a bad idea, and I'm sorry for the drama I caused. Anything else?"

"No… wait. Liked? As in, past-tense?" Lizzie asked excitedly.

"Yeah. Past tense. Now, bye Lizzie," Casey answered as she shut the door in Lizzie's face.

Derek smiled as he eased his door shut quietly. Listening at doors was always a good way to get information.

Lizzie walked to the attic and sat on Edwin's bed. "No lies for me, no lies for Marti. I guess you're up, Ed."

He smiled as he leaned down to kiss her on the cheek and headed downstairs. "Wish me luck, Liz," he called back over his shoulder.

Reaching the bottom of the stairs, he knocked on Casey's door. "Casey?" he called.

Casey opened the door, sighing in frustration. "_What?_"

"So, Casey," Edwin said, leaning against the door and generally trying to emulate Derek. "Why did you _really_ get drunk a couple weeks ago?"

Rolling her eyes, she shut her door in his face. "Go away, Edwin."

Growling, Edwin made his way back upstairs. "I'm out too. She's just locking herself in her room, not talking to anyone so she doesn't have to lie."

Lizzie sat down beside him, laying her head on his shoulder. "I guess it's up to Derek now."

Downstairs, Casey grabbed her jacket from the door and called out to her parents, "I'm going out." Leaving the house, she walked rapidly down the block until she saw Gary's car—just out of sight from her front porch.

Climbing in, she turned her head as he leaned in to kiss her, so that he only got his cheek.

"Casey," Gary asked, concern in his voice, "what's wrong?"

She decided to get straight to the point. "Where were you last night?"

"Out with my family. What is this about?" His eyes narrowed at her. "Why are you questioning me? What's the deal?"

"I know you are cheating on me, Gary. You don't even _like_ your family. You never spend time with them," she accused him.

"Did Derek tell you this? I know he saw me at the mall last night. Look, Casey, whatever he told you, it's a lie."

She stared at him in confusion. "Derek _knew_? He's in so much trouble. But you—we're over!" Opening the car door, she started to walk away, but the next words Gary said stopped her in her tracks.

"You're just leaving me because you're in love with your _stepbrother_."

She turned around and glared at him. "No, I'm not," she said firmly before slamming the door and walking back to her house.

When she got back, she walked straight upstairs and burst through Derek's door without knocking.

"Casey?" he asked as he looked up in surprise. "What are you doing here? I thought you were with Gary."

She crossed her arms over her chest. "We need to talk."

He grimaced. "I'm in trouble, aren't I?"

"Oh yes, Derek. You're in trouble." She slammed the door behind her and sat down in front of him.

Derek dropped his head onto his hands.

_This is going to be a long night._


	7. The Reason

**A/N: The final chapter. It was originally going to be an epilogue, but I left too much of the plot to be finished up. So now--no epilogue, lol. Thanks to all my readers and reviewers. :) I had a lot of fun writing this story.**

**Disclaimer: I own neither Life with Derek or the song Drink, Swear, Steal, and Lie, which is quoted (with a few minor changes) in this chapter and is the title of the story.  
**

Casey sat in front of Derek silently for a few minutes, watching him as he massaged his temples lightly. Finally, he could take the quiet no more, and he looked up at her.

"Are you going to tell me _why_ I'm in trouble?" he asked, raising his eyebrows.

Casey smirked, crossing one leg over the other and drawing attention to the way her skirt was riding up her thighs… Derek felt his mouth go dry and he forced his eyes to focus on her face. "No," she said when he looked at her. "_You're_ going to tell _me_ why you are in trouble."

Derek's face paled, and he quickly started searching for the least offensive of the things he had done. "Uhm," he said, stalling for time as Casey raised her brows. "You mean how I paid Edwin to tell Dad and Nora you were hungover?"

Casey carefully kept her surprise from her face, and shook her head. "Not that," she said, pretending she had known about it all along.

"Then you mean about how I bribed Marti into catching you swearing?" he asked, getting desperate. These were the lightest of his latest crimes—if she meant one of the others, he was doomed.

Casey pursed her lips, getting angrier as she realized that all the time she had spent grounded had been thanks to Derek. She shook her head, "no. Not that either." She had no intention of letting him off the hook, and she was finding out some _very_ interesting things.

"So you know I told Lizzie who stole her soccer ball?"

She nodded. "Yes, I know," she lied. "But that's not why you're in trouble." She was uncomfortable with the lie but shrugged it off. After all, even though she hadn't known, she wasn't at all surprised.

"Ah. Obviously you're mad at me because I promised whoever could catch you in a lie a ride to school in the Prince… But no one caught you, so why are you mad about that?" he asked, confused.

She shook her head. "I'm not mad about any of these things, Derek. I should have known you would do all of this—you are always concerned with swindling other peoples' money."

Derek sprang to his feet and started pacing back and forth. "Look, Casey—I wasn't doing it for the money. Okay, well yeah. At first it was just for the money. But after I started hanging out with you and talking to you, and especially after I stole your diary… I just wanted you to figure out that Gary is bad for you. He is, Casey. Look how much he's made you change! He wants you to sneak around and lie for him. A good guy wouldn't make you do that. The right guy would change for _you_."

"Oh yeah, Derek?" Casey asked, standing up and poking him in the chest. "What else do you know about Gary? You've never even met him!"

"I know he's cheating on you," Derek snapped, shoving her hand away.

Casey pushed him back down into his chair. "Yes. You do. You know he was cheating on me. But did you tell me?"

Derek gaped at her, mouth hanging open and eyes wide. "_That's_ why you are mad at me? Because I didn't tell you your boyfriend was cheating on you?"

"Wouldn't you be mad if the situation was reversed?" she demaned.

"Look, Casey," Derek stood and stepped closer to her. "I didn't tell you because I didn't know how. I'm just the prankster, the liar. I didn't know if you would believe me, and I didn't want you to think that I was just trying to break you and Gary up." He put his arms around her waist and gave her a tight hug.

Casey leaned against his chest for a few minutes before pulling away. "But that still doesn't excuse all of the stuff you did! Derek, I was grounded for _ever_ because of you."

Derek laughed. "I was really just doing it for your sake, Casey."

"How?" she asked suspiciously.

"I was trying to make you understand that you're not made for this. It's simply not possible for Casey McDonald to tell lies, to hide a hangover, or to steal. It's not who you are."

She raised her eyebrows. "You left out swear."

"Well, you're actually really good at the swearing part…." He backed away as he said it, raising his hands in a gesture of surrender before she could even try to hit him.

She shrugged, and nodded at him. "You're right. I've learned all of your lessons. I've done all the homework. But it's not me. I don't want to be you."

Derek winced. "There's nothing wrong with me! And—wait. You did all the homework? Even the lying part?"

Casey sat down on the bed, tugging on Derek's hand until he sat beside her. "Yeah. I even lied."

"But no one caught you," he argued, reclining back onto the bed.

"I didn't lie to anyone in the house."

"Gary?"

Casey nodded. "I broke up with him. I suspected he was cheating on me, and I didn't want to be the person he wanted me to be."

Derek smiled, reaching out to brush the hair out of her face so he could see her eyes. "I'm glad, Case."

She smiled too, laying down beside him and looking up at him.

"So…" he said after a few seconds of silence. "What was the lie?"

Casey winced. "Uhm… I just told him… that…" Her words trailed off as she tried to think of another lie—this one to keep Derek from finding out the truth.

Derek just laughed. "Don't even try to lie to me. You know it won't work."

She sighed, looking away and staring at the ceiling. "He accused me of being in love with you."

Derek reached over and lightly grasped her chin, tilting her face up so she was looking at him. "Okay, that's what he said. But what was the lie that _you_ told?" He held his breath, hoping…

"I told him I wasn't," she muttered. Her face turned bright red and she tried to look away, but Derek tightened his grip on her face as he leaned down and kissed her.

It was slow, it was fast. It was hard, it was sweet. It was everything a kiss ever was, ever could be, and ever would be.

Finally after seconds—minutes, hours—Derek pulled away, with a big grin on his face. "You know, Casey…" he said. "Teaching you all these lessons has made me realize that I don't want to keep doing these things either. The only times I want to drink, swear, steal, or lie are when I'm with you."

Casey's brows furrowed in confusion. "Huh?"

Derek blushed, shaking his head. "Never mind, it's corny."

She leaned forward and kissed him lightly. "Please, tell me?"

He sighed, looking away. "I want to drink from your loving cup, swear to never give you up. I want to steal all your kisses underneath the moon. I want to lie there, next to you… Look at what you've made me do. Casey…. You're the reason why I'll drink, swear, steal, and lie."

She smiled at him. "That _was _corny."

"Hey," he said, tickling her ribs. "You're supposed to compliment it, not insult it!"

She grabbed his wrists to make him stop tickling her and leaned forward to kiss him again. "It was extremely sweet and very romantic. And… Corny."

He rolled his eyes and scooted down a bit on the bed, laying his head on her shoulder and drawing random designs on her stomach.

"Derek?"

"Yeah, Casey?"

"Are you really going to quit all that stuff?"

He snorted. "No."

"Der-ek!" She smacked him lightly on the top of his head.

He sat up a bit on his elbows, looking her in the eyes. "Look, Case—I'll do them less, okay? I can't just quit altogether. It's not who I am. And you know you like me for who I am." He winked at her, flashing her his famous Venturi smirk.

She mimicked his smirk. "Yeah. I do."

From that moment on, Casey McDonald became less of a prude, and Derek Venturi became less of a bad boy.

**-Fin-**


End file.
